GIFT  OF 


'Falling   out  of  bed." 


The  Two   Oldest 

TREES 

One    Dead 
One    Living 


as  told  by 


RUFUS  JANVIER  BRISCOE 


RIVERSIDE,  CALIFORNIA 
1914 


Copyrighted  1914 

by 
RUFUS  JANVIER   BRISCOE 


PRKSS  OF 

YOUNG  &  McCALLisTER,  INC. 
Los  Angeles 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"Falling  out  of  bed" Frontispiece 

"Dewey  Cannon"  mounted  on  the  mesa 9 

General  view  among  exposed  fossil  trees 13 

Exposed  tree  over  100  feet  in  length. 

"The  Oldest  Tree" 17 

"The  bridge  tree" .  21 

Fossilized  cypress  showing  annual  rings  or 

growth   25 

Cypress  growing  in  1913  showing  growth  as  it 

compares  with  the  ancient  tree  life 28 

Fossilized  cypress  which  shows  clearly  the  frac- 
ture when  the  tree  fell  before  its  replacement 

with   silica   31 

The   Sequoia  Gigantea  in  Virgin   forest,   Kings 

River,  California  34 

The  largest  yellow  pine  growing  in  the  Yosemite 

Valley  36 

Yellow  pine  and  cedars,  Yosemite  Valley 39 

The.  noted  sugar  pine  of  the  Merced  River, 

Yosemite  Valley 42 

"Old  Grizzly,"  undoubtedly  one  of  the  oldest 

trees  in  the  world 45 

The  "General  Sherman,"  the  largest  tree  in  the 

world,  according  to  many  statements 48 

"The    Oldest    Living   Tree."     (Note    carefully 

men  clinging  to  bark  near  base  of  tree.) 51 

The  grand  old  tree,  "The  Giant,"  Santa  Cruz 

grove 51 

Showing  annual  rings  or  growth  of  the  Sequoia 

Gigantea  

Showing  annual  growth  of  a  Douglas  fir.. 57 

The  "General  Sherman,"  Santa  Cruz  grove, 

(badly  burned)   61 

Base  of  the  oldest  and  largest  of  trees 63 


To  my  wife 

SARAH  LOCKWOOD  BRISCOE 

my  companion  on  the  deserts 
and  in  the  forests. 


The  Two  Oldest  Trees 

WHEN  one  is  dealing  with  a  sub- 
ject whose  activities  date  back  to 
a  period  so  remote  that  time  is 
measured  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
years,  as  we  count  time,  one  must  have 
definite  proof  of  his  statements,  else  he  is 
pronounced  a  guesser,  or  even  worse,  one 
of  unsound  mind. 

The  Jurassic  period,  the  geologists  tell 
us,  was  about  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  years  ago,  and  it  is  of  that  pe- 
riod I  seek  to  tell,  so  far  as  it  relates  by 
comparison  to  our  present  tree  life  and 
the  climatic  conditions  as  compared  to 
our  time  and  days. 

The  Jura  Mountains  of  Europe,  north- 
west of  Switzerland,  are  composed  of 
rocks  of  that  epoch;  hence  the  name  as 
applied  by  eminent  scholars  to  that  pe- 
riod (the  Oolite  or  Jurassic). 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

The  rocks  of  that  age  are  not  exposed 
except  rarely  in  the  United  States  of 
America. 

In  Northern  Arizona  they  are  clearly 
recognized,  but  not  to  a  great  extent. 

In  Apache  County  you  will  find  these 
rocks  and  in  them  you  will  find  the  sub- 
ject of  this  story,  and  should  you  go  there 
you  will  find  evidence  of  the  correctness 
of  my  statements  and  undisputed  proof 
of  what  some  may  call  "the  dreams  of  a 
lumberman." 

There  you  will  find  "The  Petrified 
Trees"  (the  agatized  trees)  so  radiant  in 
coloring  that  one  is  prone  to  believe  he 
has  found  the  workshop  of  the  Great 
Jeweler  whose  stock  in  trade  is  agate, 
amethyst,  chalcedony  and  jasper  of  every 
known  color;  the  fragments,  His  chips, 
the  unbroken  sections  of  trunks  of  trees, 
His  source  of  supply. 

These  ancient  stone  trees,  broken  in 
cross  sections,  from  one  to  fourteen  feet 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

in  length  and  in  diameter  up  to  sixty 
inches,  are  again  under  the  influence  of 
Arizona's  blue  sky,  her  unmatched  sun- 
light, and  her  never  to  be  forgotten 
moonlight.  They  are  falling  out  of  bed, 
as  it  were,  and  you  meet  them  as  they 
lie  upon  the  floor  or  in  pits  at  a  lower 
level  than  their  long  used  resting  place, 
which  had  been  previously  eroded  for 
their  reception  by  the  God  who  gave 
them  their  birth  away  back  before  the 
Rocky  Mountain  were  born,  and  when 
what  we  now  call  Arizona  and  Califor- 
nia was  a  level,  swampy  country,  like  the 
Gulf  States  of  the  present  day,  Louisiana, 
Mississippi  and  Florida. 

When  a  lad  of  but  nine  years  of  age, 
in  the  year  1855,  I  first  heard  of  "the  pet- 
rified trees"  of  the  Little  Colorado  River 
of  the  far  West.  I  heard  the  tale  from 
the  lips  of  Captain  Whipple  (afterwards 
General  Whipple)  who  was  killed  at 
Chancellorsville,  Va.,  during  the  Civil 


10 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

War.  He  was  a  Lieutenant  of  the  United 
States  Army;  had  recently  returned  from 
commanding  and  guiding  an  expedition 
of  exploration  to  and  among  the  Moki 
and  Navajo  Indians  and  in  and  through 
those  then  little  known  regions  of  the  ter- 
ritory lying  between  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  the  high  Sierras  or  Coast 
Range.  He  told  of  trees  of  stone,  of 
their  beautiful  color  and  how  hard  the 
stone  was,  and  of  arrowheads  being  made 
from  it,  and  of  the  ugly  and  painful 
wounds  which  they  inflicted,  even  caus- 
ing death  in  many  cases.  This  much  I 
well  remember:  his  narrative  made  a 
deep  impression  on  me.  He  also  told  of 
the  hardships  in  passing  through  so  deso- 
late a  country;  in  fact,  he  told  enough 
to  thoroughly  arouse  in  me  as  a  child  a 
desire  to  go  some  day  and  see  for  myself 
this  Wonderland. 

Later  in  life  I  sought  out  other  re- 
ports   of    this    country    and    read    them 


11 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

closely  and  carefully,  especially  reports 
of  Lieut.  Powell.  It  was  he  who  passed 
down  the  main  Colorado  River  and 
through  the  Grand  Canyon.  He  also 
examined  the  surrouding  country  and  in 
his  reports  glowingly  described  the  "pet- 
rifactions" of  not  only  the  Little  Colo- 
rado River  but  those  of  a  portion  of  the 
Painted  Desert. 

The  agatized  "petrified"  trees  were 
first  discovered  and  reported  to  the  Gov- 
ernment by  Lieut.  Whipple  in  1853. 

Still  later  when  in  1896  the  time  came 
that  I  could  cross  to  the  Pacific,  I  chose 
the  Santa  Fe  route  as  it  would  bring  me 
practically  through  the  agatized  regions. 
I  stopped  at  Holbrook  to  visit  a  portion 
of  the  exposed  trees;  the  river  being 
high  I  could  not  cross  it  and  see  the  won- 
ders on  the  South  side  of  the  river,  but 
secured  specimens  which  I  carried  back 
as  proofs  of  these  pre-historic  wonders. 


12 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

When  Tiffany  &  Co.  of  New  York 
City  exhibited  at  the  World's  Fair  those 
matchless  gems,  those  polished  slabs  or 
sections  of  the  trees,  the  world  awoke  to 
the  undreamed  of  beauty  they  possessed, 
and  from  that  time  on  thousands  annual- 
ly visit  those  regions  for  investigation  and 
admiration. 

In  October,  1913,  I  went  to  Adamana 
having  in  mind  three  important  ques- 
tions, and  if  possible  to  answer  them 
correctly,  I  could  then  give  an  intelligent 
explanation  to  my  friends  and  question- 
ers. 

The  first  thought  was:  Could  I  de- 
termine correctly  the  several  distinct 
species  of  trees  that  had  been  fossilized. 
Second,  the  age  of  the  trees  when  in  life, 
based  upon  their  respective  diameters. 
Third,  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  an- 
nual average  growth  of  the  trees,  and 
through  the  medium  of  this  growth  de- 
termine the  climatic  conditions  upon  the 


14 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE       DEAD 

earth  when  these  trees  were  growing,  by 
comparison  with  the  same  species  of  trees 
growing  today. 

I  do  not  approve  of  the  term  "forest."  I 
know  it  is  misleading  to  many  who  expect 
to  see  what  is  not  there.  There  are  no 
trees  or  stumps  that  are  standing  in  place, 
so  far  as  I  saw,  in  the  agatized  zone,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  many 
trees  or,  in  fact,  any  of  them,  had  their 
organic  matter  replaced  with  silica  at  or 
near  the  place  where  they  grew.  They 
evidently  were  scattered  when  they  fell, 
drifting  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  ere 
they  sank  to  their  final  resting  places. 

The  trees  are  found  with  their  tops 
pointing  to  all  degrees  of  the  compass. 
This  proves  to  me,  and  it  should  prove  to 
you,  that  no  cyclonic  force  threw  them 
down. 

Their  fall  must  have  been  "as  the  tree 
inclined."  All  trees,  with  few  exceptions, 


THE         TWO         OLDEST         TREES 

lean  or  are  out  of  the  perpendicular,  as 
they  stand  growing  on  the  stump. 

The  sedimentary  rock  in  which  they 
are  buried  clearly  tells  that  the  surface 
had  once  been  below  the  sea  level  and 
that  at  a  time  later  than  the  tree  life. 
Every  indication  points  to  this  fact.  So 
it  is  not  conjecture  to  say  that  the  trees 
were  drowned  by  inflowing  water,  either 
salt  or  fresh,  and  when  dead  fell  prone 
upon  the  water,  or  the  then  surface  of  the 
land,  later  drifting  undoubtedly  more  or 
less  and,  as  will  all  timber  if  afloat,  final- 
ly sinking  when  water  soaked  (just  as 
you  know  it  does  today  in  a  newly  formed 
mill  pond),  then  to  become  incased  in 
the  sediment  which  eventually  covers  the 
fallen  and  sunken  trees.  Once  incased  in 
the  sediment,  provided  there  was  silica 
in  solution,  the  vegetable  matter,  which  is 
organic,  as  it  disappears  the  silica  takes 
its  place,  and  thus  produces  an  exact  rep- 
lica of  the  tree  in  stone. 


16 


Q 

I 


17 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

The  term  "petrifaction"  implies  the 
changing  of  organic  matter  into  stone; 
the  fact  is  that  the  organic  matter  is 
replaced  by  silica  in  one  or  other  of  its 
various  forms.  Silica  is  the  oxydized 
form  of  the  non-metallic  element  silicon, 
the  chief  constituent  of  the  earth's  solid 
crust,  and  when  not  mixed  with  other 
oxides  of  other  minerals  or  other  color- 
ing matter,  is  pure  white. 

Silica  is  found  imbedded  in  limestones 
anfd  other  rocks;  it  has  been  made  for 
the  most  part  of  Diatoms  and  Spicules 
of  sponges  and  without  any  unusual  de- 
gree of  heat,  and  when  under  water  may 
be  dissolved  in  part,  if  the  water  be  cold, 
and  then  consolidated  without  external 
aid  by  the  saline  ingredients  of  the  water. 
By  this  means,  also  by  parts  of  spiders, 
centipedes,  worms,  fishscales,  bones  of 
snakes,  etc.,  etc.,  we  are  furnished  with 
a  non-metallic  element  which  has  made 
it  possible  for  us  of  today  to  view  an 


18 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

exact  duplicate  of  trees  that  were  living 
millions  of  years  ago. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the 
Diatoms  are  most  minute,  that  they  are  of 
vegetable  origin,  and  so  small  are  they 
that  in  one  cubic  inch  of  rock,  in  which 
they  have  been  fossilized,  it  is  estimated 
that  there  are  forty-one  thousand  millions 
of  these  plants;  also  that  silica  constitutes 
about  one-third  of  all  the  minerals  con- 
tained in  the  earth  except  limestone. 

Whence  comes  the  wonderful  coloring 
one  sees  in  these  ancient  wonders?  For 
here  you  will  find  the  brilliant  red  of  the 
hematite,  the  blue  and  green  of  copper, 
the  yellow  of  iron  and  sulphur  and  colors 
that  no  name  can  describe,  prepared  from 
combinations  known  only  to  the  God  who 
paints  the  sunset  and  the  rainbow. 

When  one  looks  at  the  walls  from 
whence  they  come  forth  one  will  there  see 
and  find  the  source  of  the  color  matter 
used  to  give  these  remarkable  results. 


19 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

This  entire  subject  is  one  for  a  well 
equipped  scientist  and  chemist  rather  than 
that  of  a  practical  lumberman  who  is 
liable  to  make  errors  when  treading  upon 
scientific  ground.  However,  one  fact  is 
sure  beyond  question,  namely,  that  when 
these  trees  were  fossilized  they  were  not 
standing  as  and  where  they  grew,  but  long 
after  they  had  fallen,  and  some  even  miles 
away  from  where  the  seed  gave  them 
birth. 

The  Jurassic  or  Oolite  Group  is  re- 
markable for  its  fossil  remains;  fish, 
shells,  reptiles  and  birds  larger  than  any 
now  known,  also  the  great  megalosaurus 
which  were  often  thirty  feet  in  length, 
also  bats  and  innumerable  insects;  for  its 
clays  of  varied  colors,  its  ferruginous 
sandstone  and  its  lime  rocks,  containing 
copper  silicates,  ferric  salts  and  other 
minerals. 

Should  you  refer  to  the  pictorial  (geo- 
logical) views  of  its  vegetation  you  will 


20 


21 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

find  strange  and  unusual  looking  trees, 
fern  and  other  plant  life  illustrated;  but 
to  my  mind,  I  feel  compelled  to  say 
imagination  has  played  too  large  a  part 
in  the  making  of  these  drawings,  for  it  is 
my  belief,  and  the  proof  is  in  the  seeing, 
that  the  forest  growth  when  these  trees 
were  growing  was  similar  in  general  re- 
spect to  that  we  find  in  our  Gulf  States 
of  today. 

The  cypress,  the  pine,  the  cedar,  the 
high  palmetto  and  the  ground  palmetto, 
and  I  think  but  am  not  sure,  the  oak  and 
the  magnolia  are  the  prevailing  trees  of 
the  agatized  formations.  The  pine,  the 
cypress  and  the  cedar,  also  the  oak  and 
the  magnolia,  are  my  personal  friends, 
and  while  they  lie  prone  and  glisten,  in 
the  bright  sunlight,  their  hearts  of  stone 
tell  unmistakably  of  their  separate  indi- 
viduality. 

The  bark,  the  hollow  heart,  the  punky 
timber,  the  spike  knotted  timber,  the  churn 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

butt  of  the  cypress,  as  well  as  the  sound 
and  more  perfect  tree,  can  be  seen.  A 
lumberman  usually  describes  a  forest  in 
the  use  of  such  terms,  and  finding 
such  characteristics  at  hand  makes  me 
doubly  sure  of  my  position  that  these  an- 
cient trees  were  the  predecessors  of  the 
twentieth  century  trees,  without  a  doubt 
and  with  little,  if  any,  change  in  their 
personnel. 

There  has  been  no  change  in  their  gen- 
eral characteristics  in  spite  of  the  vast 
period  of  time  which  has  elapsed  since 
they  grew.  The  forest  contains  mostly 
conifers,  but  in  no  case  could  I  find  a  cone 
nor  could  I  learn  of  any  having  been 
found.  But  I  did  bring  away  with  me 
absolute  proof  that  the  replacement,  or 
what  is  known  as  "petrifaction,"  took 
place  after  the  tree  had  fallen  and,  in  one 
case,  broken  in  its  fall.  The  illustration 
will  show  my  contention  more  clearly 
than  words. 


23 


THE         TWO         OLDEST         TREES 

When  a  human  being  can  survey  that 
part  of  Nature's  operations  which  he  feels 
competent  to  study,  he  can  then  assert 
himself  in  a  confident  manner,  but  should 
do  so  with  much  caution. 

When  these  fossilized  agatized  trees 
were  living  they  were  doing  as  the  living 
trees  of  today  all  do,  namely,  recording 
yearly  their  age,  making  a  record  of  the 
rainfall,  recording  the  storms  of  the  year 
and  thus  telling,  climatically  speaking, 
what  were  the  conditions  on  the  earth  at 
that  time. 

When  I  wish  to  find  the  age  of  a  tree 
I  first  get  the  circumference,  then  the 
diameter,  which  I  divide  in  half,  then 
reduce  that  half  of  the  diameter  to  inches, 
then  secure,  by  accurately  counting,  the 
average  number  of  yearly  rings  or 
growths  of  the  tree  to  the  inch ;  multiply 
this  result  by  the  number  of  inches  in  the 
half  diameter  and  I  have  the  age  of  the 
tree. 


24 


- 


Fossilized  cypress  showing  annual  rings  or  growth. 


25 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

Examples:  Take  a  tree  thirty  feet  in 
circumference — it  will  be  ten  feet  in  di- 
ameter; the  distance  from  the  heart  to 
the  outside  of  the  bark,  or  one-half  the 
diameter,  would  be  five  feet  or  sixty 
inches.  Supposing  you  have  found  the 
average  number  of  rings  to  the  inch  to  be 
twenty,  then  you  have  the  age  of  the  tree 
1200  years. 

When  measuring  a  stump  you  can 
determine  the  exact  number  of  rings  as 
you  can  stop  where  the  bark  begins;  if 
the  tree  is  standing  and  you  wish  to  make 
an  exceptionally  correct  comparison,  I 
would  get  the  exact  diameter  of  the  tree 
by  measuring  the  bark  on  both  sides,  and 
the  result  deducted  from  the  outside  cir- 
cumference will  be  the  diameter  of  the 
body  of  the  tree.  This  can  be  easily  done 
and  without  harm  to  the  tree  by  using  a 
small  pointed  steel  properly  ruled  off. 
Most  barks  of  trees  are  easily  penetrated 
and  without  harm  to  the  tree. 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

These  trees,  as  stated  before,  I  feel  sure, 
are  direct  ancestors  of  the  trees  of  today, 
and  as  to  their  age  when  alive  it  may  in- 
terest you  to  know  something  definite.  I 
have  used  great  care  and  a  strong  magni- 
fying glass  in  counting  the  yearly  growth 
of  these  trees,  and  my  examination  shows 
that  on  an  average  one  is  safe  in  using 
eighteen  rings,  sixteen  rings  and  twelve 
rings  as  the  representation  of  an  inch 
growth  of  the  diameter  of  the  cedar,  the 
cypress  and  the  pine  trees.  You  will  not 
go  far  astray  when  you  come  across  a 
cedar  log  twelve  inches  in  diameter  near 
the  butt  if  you  declare  that  it  was  108 
years  old.  A  cypress  of  the  same  diam- 
eter would  be  96  years  old,  and  a  pine 
of  the  same  diameter  would  be  72  years 
old.  This  is  the  result  I  have  obtained 
by  carefully  counting  polished  sections 
of  these  different  trees  which  I  secured 
where  they  now  lie  exposed;  the  same 
rule  applies  to  larger  or  smaller  trees. 


27 


Cypress  growing  in  1913  showing  growth 
as  it  compares  with  the  ancient  tree  life. 
28 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

The  yearly  growth  shows  by  its  width 
the  dry  year  as  well  as  the  one  when  rain 
was  abundant,  and  so  closely  do  they 
compare  with  the  growth  of  trees  of  the 
same  species  today,  that  I  conclude  that 
the  geniality  of  the  earth  at  that  time  was 
about  as  it  is  now,  long  before  succeed- 
ing "Ages  of  Ice"  covered  portions  of  the 
earth's  surface. 

These  trees  grew  in  about  the  same 
location  as  to  latitude,  which  was  about 
36  degrees  North,  as  do  the  living  trees 
of  the  same  species  today  many  miles  to 
the  east.  They  have  been  elevated  dur- 
ing their  Stone  Age  to  a  height  of  5,700 
feet  above  sea  level,  but  during  their  life 
they,  as  their  successors,  grew  and  flour- 
ished at  a  low  altitude. 

I  can  offer  no  explanation  or  find  any 
satisfying  reason  for  the  breaking  of  these 
trunks  into  cross  sections,  except  that  I  am 
convinced  from  a  close  observation  of  the 
"bridge  tree"  that  could  we  undermine 


29 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

the  undisturbed  trunks  we  would  find 
them  intact.  I  think,  however,  their  great 
weight  (which  is  about  200  pounds  to  the 
square  foot)  is  the  real  cause  of  the  fract- 
ure, for  unless  they  are  properly  and 
evenly  supported  on  a  true  level  some 
fracture  is  bound  to  take  place  when  the 
erosion  releases  them. 

Some  trees  have  been  made  oval  or 
flattened  and  we  are  told  that  the  great 
weight  of  a  solid  mile  of  rock,  which  they 
say  covered  them  at  one  time  was  the 
cause.  This  I  do  not  believe  plausible, 
for  some  trees  are  not  in  this  shape — only 
a  portion  of  them. 

When  the  organic  matter  in  the  trees 
was  being  replaced  with  silica  they  could 
not  have  been  so  deeply  covered,  or  had 
they  been  covered  with  so  great  a  weight 
after  they  had  been  fossilized,  they  would 
not  have  been  made  oval  or  flattened,  but 
shattered  into  innumerable  fragments  if 
disturbed  at  all. 


30 


^    K 

I! 

«->     VJ 

^ 

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31 


THE        TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

You  cannot  make  an  oval  or  a  round 
piece  of  fossilized  wood  by  pressure;  it 
must  have  occurred  in  advance  of  the 
fossilization,  and  it  is  my  opinion  that  the 
trees  of  oval  form  are  largely  of  the  fam- 
ily of  palmetto,  both  tall  and  ground 
varieties.  These  have  for  their  main 
structure  a  much  softer  or  pulpy  body. 
If  not  palmetto  they  were  defective  trees 
of  other  species  which  had  weakened 
under  ordinary  pressure.  In  no  other 
wood  fossilization  do  I  find  these  oval 
or  flattened  trees. 

It  was  my  experience  in  Michigan,  dur- 
ing the  early  days  of  lumbering,  that 
much  down  timber  was  met  with  and  that 
in  almost  every  case  where  the  trees  had 
been  "hollow  hearted"  before  falling  it 
was  flattened  as  it  struck  the  ground,  in 
other  words  made  oval,  appearing  exactly 
as  does  the  oval  trunks  of  the  stone  trees. 

The  pine  and  cypress,  are  subject  to 
such  a  condition  as  they  reach  maturity, 


32 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

fully  fifty  per  cent  of  their  number  be- 
come "hollow  hearted." 

The  hardness  of  these  stone  trees  is 
rated  at  No.  7,  topaz  is  No.  8,  corundum 
is  No.  9  and  the  diamond  is  No.  10. 

A  visit  to  these  relics  of  so  long  ago  can 
be  made  with  ease  and  comfort.  You  can 
have  your  train  stop  at  Adamana,  which 
is  on  the  main  line  of  the  Santa  Fe  a  few 
miles  west  of  Gallup.  The  genial  and 
gentlemanly  custodian  of  the  reservation 
(now  Mr.  Chester  B.  Campbell),  will 
meet  you  in  case  you  let  him  know  of  your 
intention  to  stop.  You  can  be  comfort- 
ably housed  and  fed  at  reasonable  cost, 
close  at  hand.  Provided  there  is  no  water 
in  the  Little  Colorado  there  will  be  no 
hardship  in  making  the  trip  to  the  ex- 
posed trees,  a  superficial  observation  of 
which  can  be  made  in  one  day.  The  cost 
is  reasonable.  However,  I  would  advise 
that  several  days  be  given  to  these  and  the 


33 


The  Sequoia  Gigantea  in  Virgin  forest,  Kings  River,  California. 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

many  interesting  objects  to  be  seen  in  that 
vicinity. 

During  a  visit  to  the  Yosemite  Valley 
during  the  year  1912,  I  found  much 
pleasure  in  going  about  its  confines,  ad- 
miring and  studying  the  native  tree  life, 
which  is  not  only  invigorating,  but  to  a 
lover  of  trees  a  pleasure  unobtainable 
anywhere  else  that  I  know  of  in  America. 

The  sugar  pine,  the  yellow  or  red  pine, 
the  white  cedar  and  the  great  oak  grow- 
here  to  perfection.  Their  stately,  upright 
bearing  is  imposing  and  pronounced 
beyond  expectation.  They  are  not  ex- 
tremely large,  but  their  height  and  diam- 
eter command  respect  and  attention. 

The  largest  yellow  pine  that  I  know  of 
in  the  Valley  is  standing  west  of  the  main 
roadway  leading  into  the  Valley,  a  little 
southward  of  Bridal  Veil  Falls  and  Sell's 
Camp,  and  measures  about  twelve  feet  in 
diameter.  I  estimate  its  age  at  fully  1600 


35 


36 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

years,  its  height  about  200  feet.     It  is  in 
perfect  health. 

Further  up  the  Merced  River,  close  to 
the  bank  on  the  north  side,  you  will  find 
a  stately  sugar  pine,  the  tree  that  has  been 
preserved  through  the  changing,  as  it 
were,  of  the  main  current  of  the  river. 
This  tree  is  fully  nine  feet  in  diameter, 
it  is  more  than  200  feet  tall,  and  its  age 
I  put  at  about  the  same  as  the  yellow  pine 
just  referred  to.  In  this  case  an  excellent 
opportunity  for  making  the  comparison 
as  to  its  age  can  be  obtained  from  a  sister 
tree,  the  stump  of  which  can  be  found 
about  200  feet  further  up  the  stream,  on 
the  same  side  of  the  river.  This  sister 
tree  was  cut  down  and  thrown  into  the 
stream  and  used  as  a  dam  in  order  that 
the  cutting  of  the  bank  might  be  stopped, 
and  the  tree  first  referred  to  saved. 

A  magnificent  cedar  growing  in  the 
village  of  Yosemite  has  been  built  around 
in  the  erection  of  a  cottage,  the  massive 


37 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

trunk  passing  up  through  the  roof.  It  has 
a  diameter  of  about  nine  and  one-half  feet 
and  an  age  of  fully  1800  years. 

The  oak  trees  growing  there  are  of  the 
black  oak  family.  They  are  numerous, 
some  of  very  large  size  and  of  great  age. 
They  have  furnished  annually  for  cen- 
turies, acorns,  which  are  gathered  in  their 
season,  and  used  as  an  article  of  barter  in 
exchange  for  the  pinon  nut,  by  the  Indians 
of  the  valley  with  the  tribes  that  live  up 
on  the  higher  mountains,  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  range. 

It  was  my  pleasure  to  meet  and  know 
Mr.  Chris  Jorgensen,  the  famous  artist  of 
Carmel,  and  while  discussing  with  him 
the  tree  life  of  the  valley,  he  told  me  of 
a  Sequoia  somewhere  in  Fresno  County 
near  the  Kings  River,  which  was  much 
larger  than  the  grand  old  "Grizzly"  of 
the  Mariposa  Grove  of  Big  Trees,  or  of 
any  other  known  tree  in  California;  also 


38 


Yellow  pine  and  cedars,  Yosemite  Falley. 
39 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

of  his  determination  to  go  and  find  it  and 
see  for  himself. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1913,  I  started 
out  to  find  that  tree,  going  by  the  way  of 
Visalia,  Exeter,  and  finally  bringing  up 
at  the  little  town  of  Sanger,  Fresno 
County.  I  had  decided  to  make  the  camp 
in  the  General  Grant  Grove  of  Big  Trees 
my  headquarters.  While  at  Sanger  mak- 
ing arrangements  for  transportation,  by 
a  singular  coincidence  I  met  the  son  of 
Thomas  Hume  of  Muskegon,  Michigan, 
who  is  the  vice-president  of  the  Hume 
Lumber  Company.  We  had  not  talked 
long  before  we  found  much  in  common, 
both  as  to  friends  and  former  business  as- 
sociates; we  were  both  from  Michigan. 
Of  course  I  asked  him  about  the  route  I 
intended  to  take  and  sought  of  him  ad- 
vice such  as  I  needed,  mentioning  the 
object  of  my  travels.  Imagine  my  sur- 
prise when  he  quietly  remarked:  "We 
own  that  tree;  we  call  it  the  'Boole  Tree' 


40 


ONE        LIVING          —  ONE      DEAD 


after  one  of  our  old  employees  of  that 


name." 


He  told  me  that  the  tree  stood  about 
five  miles  northeast  of  the  village  of 
Hume  and  at  an  elevation  of  about  7000 
feet.  He  gave  me  the  circumference  and 
much  other  information  concerning  it. 

During  this  conversation,  which  was 
held  in  an  old  wooden  building  called  a 
garage,  one  of  those  infrequent  but  ter- 
rific storms  of  thunder,  lightning,  rain 
and  wind  was  gathering  up  the  mountain 
to  the  east  of  us.  Later  it  broke  with  all 
its  fury  and  all  question  of  making  a  safe 
climb  of  the  mountain  was  deemed  im- 
probable, a  portion  of  the  grade  of  the 
imperfect  roads  or-  trails  having  a  per- 
centage of  fully  thirty  degrees,  and  in  one 
case  a  length  of  over  600  feet.  So  the 
premeditated  trip  had  to  be  abandoned 
for  that  time  and  well  that  it  was  so,  for 
the  main  lines  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
and  Santa  Fe  were  put  out  of  commission 


41 


The    noted   sugar   pine   of   the   Merced  River, 
Yosemite  Valley. 

42 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

completely  for  the  next  thirty-six  hours 
from  the  effects  of  the  storm. 

Failing  in  this  effort  I  went  to  their 
flumes  which  bring  down  the  lumber  from 
their  mills,  and  through  the  courtesy  ac- 
corded me,  secured  a  sample  of  the  wood 
from  a  Sequoia  tree  which  must  have 
been  at  least  twelve  feet  in  diameter. 
This  sample  I  used  as  my  basis  for  esti- 
mating the  age  of  this  very  large  tree 
which  I  was  told  was  133  feet  in  circum- 
ference, 280  feet  high  as  it  stood;  the  top 
having  been  at  some  previous  day  broken 
off  by  a  stroke  of  lightning.  Had  the  tree 
been  perfect  its  height  must  have  been 
not  less  than  350  feet.  My  estimate  of 
the  annual  growth  of  this  tree,  put  con- 
servatively, is  not  less  than  twenty-six 
annual  rings  for  each  inch  of  its  growth, 
including  its  bark  (the  bark  of  the  Se- 
quoia is  often  as  thick  as  eighteen  inches 
and  some  say  even  thicker)  ;  thus  indicat- 
ing its  age  to  be  6864  years.  So  I  think 
I  am  correct  in  saying  that  this  is  the 

43 


THE        TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

oldest  living  tree.  It  is  of  the  family,  Se- 
quoia Gigantea  and  a  much  larger  tree 
than  the  General  Sherman  near  Ranger 
Camp,  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  railroad 
guides  as  "the  largest  tree  in  the  world." 

It  was  a  great  disappointment  not  to 
visit  the  tree  personally,  but  I  have  that 
pleasure  in  anticipation  during  the  com- 
ing year. 

I  show  the  tree  photographed  and  beg 
to  submit  two  views.  I  became  familiar 
with  its  location  and  feel  competent  to 
speak  of  it  as  I  do. 

I  beg  to  quote  from  the  following 
letter: 

HUME   LUMBER   COMPANY 
SANGER,  FRESNO  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA, 

November  29,  1913. 
Mr.  R.  J.  Briscoe, 

Riverside,  California. 
Dear  Sin- 
Many  thanks  for  your  postal  of  the  13th 
received  some  time  ago,  but  I  have  been 


44 


"Old  Grizzly,"  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
oldest  trees  in  the  'world. 

45 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

away  so  much   that   I   have   neglected   to 
reply  to  it. 

In  answer  to  your  inquiry  will  now  say 
that  133  feet  is  all  right  to  be  used  as  the 
circumference  of  the  "Boole  Tree." 
With  personal  regard,  I  am, 
Yours  very  truly, 

GEORGE  A.  HUME. 

The  "Big  Trees"  of  Australia  are  of 
the  Eucalyptus  family.  Some  have  been 
measured  that  are  as  tall  as  four  hundred 
feet,  but  their  diameters  and  their  age  are 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  Gigantea  Se- 
quoia of  California. 

So  much  has  been  written  and  so  much 
is  known  of  the  Big  Trees  of  California 
that  it  seems  out  of  place  for  me  to  at- 
tempt to  bring  out  anything  new  on  the 
subject;  however,  I  cannot  refrain  from 
offering  a  few  thoughts  and  ideas  of  my 
own  and  I  trust  that  they  may  at  least 
prove  interesting. 

/  There    are    three    trees    in    California 
which  are  famous  and  well  known.    They 


46 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

are  visited  annually  by  thousands  of  peo- 
ple. It  has  been  my  experience  when  in 
their  presence,  with  others,  to  hear  ques- 
tions asked  which  could  not  be  answered 
by  the  guides  or  other  members  of  the 
party. 

"Old  Grizzly,"  of  the  Mariposa  grove 
near  Wawona,  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
oldest  of  living  trees,  and  I  am  told  that 
David  Starr  Jordan  puts  the  tree's  age  at 
8000  years;  it  certainly  looks  it. 

This  monarch  of  the  forest  is  104  feet 
in  circumference,  which  would  give  a 
diameter  of  thirty-four  feet.  Near  this 
ancient  tree  is  the  "Fallen  Monarch,"  a 
tree  of  the  same  family,  of  great  age  and 
which,  reliable  authorities  say,  fell  to  its 
present  position  on  the  ground  more  than 
a  thousand  years  ago.  I  think  twice  that 
time  for  I  have  proof  in  other  trees  that 
sustain  me  in  this  conclusion.  I  know  of 
a  tree  that  had  fallen  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago,  that  when  cut  into  lumber,  in 


47 


The  "General  Sherman,"  the  largest  tree  in  the  world, 
according  to   many  statements. 

48 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

Humboldt  County,  was  sound  and  free 
from  rot  indications;  this  tree  was  two 
thousand,  two  hundred  years  old.  A  tree 
had  grown  directly  in  front  of  the  stump 
of  the  fallen  one  which,  when  cut  down, 
showed  its  age  to  be  over  eighteen  hun- 
dred years.  From  the  rings  of  this  "Fal- 
len Monarch"  you  can  read  the  story  of 
"Old  Grizzly,"  and  the  average  annual 
growths  to  make  an  inch  I  estimate  at 
thirty-one.  On  this  basis  the  age  of  "Old 
Grizzly"  would  be  6324  years. 

"The  General  Sherman,"  of  the  Sequoia 
Reservation,  known  as  "the  largest  tree  in 
the  world,"  has  about  the  same  circum- 
ference as  "Old  Grizzly,"  and  conse- 
quently the  same  diameter,  but  Ithink  it  is 
younger  by  at  least  a  thousand  years.  Its 
location  would  indicate  a  better  water 
supply  and  a  deeper  soil. 

In  the  Santa  Cruz  grove,  near  Santa 
Cruz,  is  "The  Giant,"  a  grand  old  tree.  It 
has  a  present  height  of  306  feet;  its  top 


49 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

was  broken  off  by  lightning  striking  it. 
The  length  of  the  top  was  75  feet,  mak- 
ing a  total  height  for  the  perfect  tree  of 
381  feet.  So  many  of  these  aged  speci- 
mens of  vegetation  have  their  crowns 
broken  off  by  having  been  struck  by  light- 
ning, there  seems  to  be  good  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  the  old  saying:  "Stand  long 
enough  in  one  place  and  you  will  be 
struck  by  lightning."  "The  Giant"  is 
sixty-six  feet  in  circumference  with  a  di- 
ameter of  twenty-two  feet.  The  age  of  this 
tree  is  stated  in  printed  matter  as  5000 
years.  I  have  taken  much  pains  in  comput- 
ing its  age  and  in  making  comparisons  by 
consulting  stumps  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity, and  my  conclusion  is  that  the  age  of 
the  tree  is  3600  years.  This  is  not  a  Se- 
quoia Gigantea,  but  a  cousin  of  that  fam- 
ily. Its  cone  is  much  smaller  and  slightly 
different  in  form.  It  is  known  as  the  Se- 
quoia Semper  Virens. 
'"It  was  not  long  ago  that  I  spent  a  day 
among  the  Big  Trees  grouped  near  Santa 


50 


"The  oldest  living  tree."  (Note  carefully  men 
clinging  to  bark  near  base  of  tree.) 


51 


THE         TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

Cruz,  and  you  can  imagine  the  pleasure 
afforded  me  on  finding  that  a  tree  of  mod- 
erate diameter,  not  far  from  the  "McKin- 
ley  and  Roosevelt"  trees,  had  fallen  and 
that  in  order  to  keep  the  paths  open,  a 
section  had  been  cut  out  of  the  trunk. 
Here  was  an  opportunity  of  reading  cor- 
rectly from  the  storehouse  of  tree  knowl- 
edge. 

When  among  these  aged  standing  trees 
you  will  notice  circular  depressions  or 
bowls.  The  predecessors  of  the  living 
trees  once  stood  above  these  open  circles, 
ages  ago,  before  the  tree  and  its  base  were 
consumed  by  repeated  fires. 

Plainly  and  distinctly  I  found  recorded 
there  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Fif- 
teenth century  (1450  to  1500),  there  had 
been  a  period  of  unusual  aridity  which 
had  lasted  for  fully  fifty  years,  and  to 
such  an  extent,  caused  by  the  reduced 
rainfall,  that  the  tree  barely  survived. 
Immediately  following  this  period  was 


52 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

the  return  to  normal  conditions,  clearly 
indicating  that  in  the  following  ten  to 
twenty  years  the  tree  grew  as  much  or 
more  than  it  had  grown  in  the  previous 
half  century.  This  fact  was  very  inter- 
esting to  me  because  it  clearly  gave  the 
reason  for  the  abandonment  of  certain 
sections  of  the  country,  about  that  time,  by 
the  inhabitants,  who  were  cliff  dwellers; 
also  those  who  had  homes  on  the  mesa 
and  at  other  locations  which  they  had 
long  occupied  up  to  that  period.  The 
drouth  of  this  period  was  widespread 
as  the  historian  will  tell  you,  also  the 
larger  trees  in  the  higher  elevations  on 
the  mountainside,  the  Sequoia  Gigantea, 
repeat  and  tell  the  same  story;  in  fact,  the 
world's  history  has  been  and  can  be  re- 
read back  to  the  building  of  the  pyramids, 
from  the  records  in  the  larger  and  older 
trees,  as  correctly,  or  even  more  so  than  by 
the  historians. 

Wonderful  as  it  may  seem,  the  famine 


53 


1 1  /  I/I  I  j  If  t  t  ':(•>  tt(!  «/* «  '  ' 


54 


ONE        LIVING          —          ONE      DEAD 

in  the  days  of  Elijah  is  clearly  noted 
(about  900  years  before  Christ),  also  the 
distressing  time  caused  by  aridity  in  the 
seventh,  eighth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
A.  D.  On  these  points  the  tree  and  the 
historian  agree  most  completely. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  when 
periods  of  aridity  occur,  poverty  and  dis- 
tress are  prevalent;  when  rain  is  abund- 
ant the  opposite  condition  is  noted.  The 
Sequoia  Gigantea  now  growing  are  found 
between  the  thirtieth  and  fortieth  paral- 
lels of  north  latitude.  The  records  of  the 
historian  of  events  taking  place  in  this 
same  division  of  the  earth's  surface,  from 
California  to  Asia,  agree  so  perfectly 
with  the  records  of  these  trees  that  one  is 
dumb  with  amazement. 

Not  far  from  "The  Giant"  is  a  tree  not 
quite  so  large  in  circumference,  but  which 
is  badly  scarred  by  fire.  Inquiry  was 
made  as  to  the  time  the  fire  probably  oc- 
curred. The  answer  was  that  Indians 


55 


THE        TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

had  probably  set  the  woods  on  fire  or  that 
it  had  occurred  from  other  causes,  such 
as  lightning  or  friction,  but  no  definite 
answer  was  given. 

My  experience  as  a  lumberman  fur- 
nished me  with  a  method  of  determining 
this  important  fact  which  I  will  explain. 
I  ascertained  the  diameter  of  the  suckers 
or  young  trees  that  were  growing  within 
this  fire  zone,  and  by  determining  accur- 
ately the  annual  growth  of  some  of  the 
same  diameters  which  I  found  in  a  pile 
of  wood  not  far  away,  I  could  say  with 
conviction  that  the  fire  which  all  but 
killed  the  Sherman  tree  occurred  about 
ninety  years  ago.  I  speak  of  this  to  show 
how  much  can  be  learned  by  experienced 
observation  and  proper  application  of 
this  to  the  subject  in  hand. 

It  has  been  my  intention  to  answer  ques- 
tions that  I  have  often  heard  asked  by 
persons  when  in  the  presence  of  these  na- 
tional wonders.  In  most  cases  no  decided 


56 


X, 

X 


Showing  the  annual  growth  of  a  Douglas  fir. 
57 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

or  lucid  reply  had  been  given ;  frequently 
such  answers  have  been  so  ridiculous  as 
to  disturb  the  occasion.  I  have  tried  to 
supply  in  advance  the  information,  and 
thus  add  interest  to  the  visit  by  telling  of 
the  circumstances  surrounding  these  great 
wonders,  as  to  their  life,  their  death  and 
their  family  characteristics. 

At  no  other  place  that  we  know  of,  ex- 
cept in  Arizona,  can  you  find  the  agatized 
trees. 

Only  in  California  can  be  found  the 
mature  living  Gigantea  Sequoia.  These 
few  groves  of  living  trees  were  spared  to 
us  and  to  this  age,  by  the  fact  that  the 
glaciers  of  the  last  ice  age  could  not,  and 
did  not  sweep  away  their  immediate  an- 
cestors. 

At  certain  points  on  the  west  side  of  the 
high  Sierra  range  of  mountains  a  few  of 
these  trees  were  afforded  protection  by 
being  sheltered  behind  the  range.  This 
was  not  the  case  at  all  points,  for  between 
the  several  groves  the  glacier's  tongue 


58 


The  grand  old  tree,  Santa  Cruz  grove — "The  Giant. 
59 


THE        TWO         OLDEST        TREES 

broke  through  the  canyons  and  lower 
divides  of  the  high  range;  so,  that  where 
you  find  evidence  of  the  action  of  the  ex- 
tinct ice  (there  are,  however,  to  be  seen 
at  this  day  the  dying  remnants  of  the  ice 
age  in  the  districts  I  refer  to),  you  find 
no  trace  of  the  Sequoia. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  at 
one  time  this  noble  tree  grew  world-wide 
on  the  earth's  surface,  grouped  in  extens- 
ive forests.  Especially  are  we  told  of  this 
fact  by  their  fossil  remains  which  are  in 
much  evidence  from  Greenland  to  New 
Jersey  on  this  continent. 

Some  one  has  said,  and  I  think  it  is  well 
said  and  advise  you  to  try  it:  "Stand 
close  to  the  base  of  one  of  these  great 
trees,  then  look  upward  at  the  ascending 
trunk,  and  you  will  get  what  is  seldom 
seen — a  view  of  immortality." 

In  conclusion  let  me  beg  of  you  that 
you  consult  the  best  of  authorities  for  con- 
firmation and  further  information  re- 


60 


The    "General    Sherman," 
(Badly  burned.) 


Santa    Cruz    grove. 


01 


THE        TWO        OLDEST        TREES 

garding  what  I  have  been  telling,  pro- 
vided you  doubt.  As  I  have  said  before 
it  will  add  interest  to  your  visits,  as  it  has 
to  mine,  and  you  will  go  back  to  your 
home  wiser  and  better  equipped  to  fight 
the  battles  of  life  which  surround  us  all. 


Base  of  the  oldest  and  largest  of  trees. 


' 


63 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
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£*•/          >?         <?xv 

*  ?% 

i:'L     1  tftM 
JUL    ^^  1941 

HA  1342 

QCT    *** 

DueendcfWINTKG 

uarter  APR  l    ^    g  j 

subject  to  recall  «ll 

8f  """* 

REC'O  LD     ^A^ 

2571-4  Wei 

LD  21-100m-7,'39(402s) 

YB   12534 


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